Factors associated with oral health perception in older Brazilians

To investigate the self-perception of oral health in older people, aged 65-74, from the central region of southern Brazil.

Cross-sectional population-based study using data from the Oral Health Conditions Survey of Southern Brazil, developed between the years 2002 and 2003, by the State Health Secretary (SHS) of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), Brazil. Socioeconomic and demographic variables, self-perception of oral health and clinical data, as well as dental pain were evaluated in 618 elderly people. Multinomial logistic regression was used to evaluate the effect of explanatory variables on the self-perception of oral health.

Almost half of the elderly were edentate and rated their oral health as good or very good. With regard to dental pain, 28.8% of the people declared that they had experienced dental pain in the 6 months before the interview. There was a significant relationship between dental pain and classification of oral health, and chewing ability. Following adjustment, the need for dental prostheses remained associated with the influence of oral health on establishing relationships. Similarly, personal income remained associated with the elderly's perception of their ability to talk. Finally, the level of education remained related to the influence of oral health status in people's relationships.

Dental pain and the need for dental prostheses were the main factors that affected the self-perception of oral health of elderly people from southern Brazil.